Type One Energy just published a study outlining the first practical fusion power plant.
Category: energy – Page 15
‘Internet of nature’ helps researchers explore the web of life
A novel paper led by Dr. Ulrich Brose of the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena is widening the understanding of how species interact within ecosystems via the so-called “Internet of Nature.”
Published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the paper reveals that species not only exchange matter and energy but also share vital information that influences behavior, interactions, and ecosystem dynamics—revealing previously hidden characteristics of natural ecosystems.
Traditionally, ecological studies have concentrated on material interactions, such as feeding, pollination, and seed dispersal. However, this new paper shines a light on the essential role of information exchange between species.
Paper Werewolf Deploys PowerModul Implant in Targeted Cyberattacks on Russian Sectors
The threat actor known as Paper Werewolf has been observed exclusively targeting Russian entities with a new implant called PowerModul.
The activity, which took place between July and December 2024, singled out organizations in the mass media, telecommunications, construction, government entities, and energy sectors, Kaspersky said in a new report published Thursday.
Paper Werewolf, also known as GOFFEE, is assessed to have conducted at least seven campaigns since 2022, according to BI.ZONE, with the attacks mainly aimed at government, energy, financial, media, and other organizations.
Sun-powered tech turns seawater into hydrogen fuel, drinking water
The current prototype impressively produces 200 milliliters of hydrogen per hour with a promising 12.6% energy efficiency.
“Water and energy are both critically needed for our everyday life, but typically, if you want to produce more energy, you have to consume more water,” said Lenan Zhang, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in Cornell Engineering, who led the project.
Zhang added: “On the other hand, we need drinking water, because two-thirds of the global population are facing water scarcity. So there is a bottleneck in green hydrogen production, and that is reflected in the cost.”
Tree gum can sustainably supercharge supercapacitor lifespan
A waste gum produced by trees found in India could be the key to unlocking a new generation of better-performing, more eco-friendly supercapacitors, researchers say.
Scientists from universities in Scotland, South Korea and India are behind the development, which harnesses the unique properties of the otherwise useless tree gum to prevent supercapacitors from degrading over tens of thousands of charging cycles.
The team’s finding could help reduce the environmental impact of supercapacitors, an energy storage technology which carry less overall power than conventional batteries but charge and discharge much more quickly.
Laser plasma accelerator achieves enhanced electron beam quality for practical applications
Laser plasma acceleration is a potentially disruptive technology: It could be used to build far more compact accelerators and open up new use cases in fundamental research, industry and health. However, on the path to real-world applications, some properties of the plasma-driven electron beam as delivered by current prototype accelerators still need to be refined.
DESY’s LUX experiment has now made significant progress in this direction: Using a clever correction system, a research team was able to significantly improve the quality of electron bunches accelerated by a laser plasma accelerator. This brings the technology a step closer to concrete applications, such as a plasma-based injector for a synchrotron storage ring. The research group presents their results in the journal Nature.
Conventional electron accelerators use radio waves which are directed into so-called resonator cavities. The radio waves transfer energy to the electrons as they fly past, increasing their velocity. To achieve high energies, many resonators have to be connected in series, making the machines large and costly.
Longstanding model fails to explain spin dynamics in 1D cuprates
Superconductivity—the ability of some materials to conduct electricity with no energy loss—holds immense promise for new technologies from lossless power grids to advanced quantum devices.
A publication in Physical Review Letters by researchers at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory sheds light on an outstanding mystery in the study of superconductivity: high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates.
Doubling down on results from a previous SLAC study, the paper provides further evidence that the Hubbard model—the leading theory for describing strong correlations between electrons in quantum materials—fails to explain electron dynamics in cuprates, even in simplified, one-dimensional systems.
Study unveils contributions to superconductivity in the vortex lattice structure of 2H-NbSe₂
Superconductivity is a quantum property of materials entailing an electrical resistance of zero at very low temperatures. In some materials, multiple electronic bands are known to contribute to the emergence of superconductivity, leading to multiple superconducting energy gaps. This phenomenon is referred to as multiband superconductivity.
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, Institut Laue Langevin in France and other institutes in Europe recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding the multiband superconductivity emerging in the transition metal dichalcogenide 2H-NbSe2, which exhibits a vortex lattice when exposed to a magnetic field.
Their findings, published in Physical Review Letters, unveil two key contributions to the superconducting state observed in this material.
Scientists unveil MacGyver-like energy breakthrough with unexpected materials: ‘Materials … have garnered considerable attention’
In answer, the team needed to develop an affordable catalyst that could improve the salty electrode. For reference, when batteries operate, ions move between the anode and cathode through the electrolyte, per a U.S. Department of Energy description.
This is where wood waste and urine enter the lab, replacing platinum as a catalyst. The UNIST creation facilitates effective electrochemical reactions and quick discharges. The experts used lignin, abundant in wood and used to make paper and biofuels, in combination with urea. Urea is a nitrogen-rich substance found in wastewater, UNIST reported.
“Conventional electrocatalysts, primarily noble metals, are scarce and expensive. In this context, carbon materials derived from biowaste have garnered considerable attention,” according to the abstract.
